Organized Chaos

I don't go on any vacation without my fan. We like the noise even if we don't need it for cooling. This is the 8" O2 Cool model I have. Just stuck it in my carry-on.

 

 

It's an older model, but still going strong. Got it in the camping section at Walmart. Runs on AC power or batteries (D's, I think). I also take a long extension cord (8 ft.). That way I can put the fan right by me in bed.

We were on the Conquest last year (our first cruise) and judging by the description on their website, we thought our son (15 at the time) would be able to go in Club O2 and play video games anytime. Their description of Digital Play says: "Have a seat, grab a controller and journey your way through vivid electronic worlds, whether you’re flying solo… or with a new friend as your ‘Player 2.’" We checked often and they never had video games going to play just any time. The only time was when they had scheduled video game tournaments, and even that only happened twice on our 5-day cruise. He wasn't interested in tournament play, just casual gaming when he felt like it. We'll be on the Glory next year and I'm hoping that has changed.

One good place to look is the camping section at Walmart (or other big box stores). That's where I got my 8" portable fan years ago. Still going strong. It runs on AC or DC. Also, I take a long extension cord (mine is 8 ft.) and that way I can put the fan right by my side of the bed. More airflow if needed but also closer to me, so louder.

 

Remember the walls are thin ,no insulation in them , get a fan to loud or noise machine to loud and your neighbors will hear it to ... , We always book Spa Cabins ,,dead silent up there

We were on deck 6 right above the casino and didn't hear a sound. Nor did we hear a peep from our neighbors on either side or behind us. The most noise came from people in the hallway.

 

Many cruises back I discovered that if I opened up the closet doors it really lessened the noise from the hallway. We always sleep with the closet door open now.

 

We're going to try this. We never heard a sound from the casino below us or from neighbors on 3 sides. The most noise we heard came from people in the hallway.

I am so sorry it took years to get back to you.. my apologies..

 

I am not sure if you can still message John or not a little bit before setting sail on his fb page or not.. but that is what we did.. ship, sail date and cabin number.

Thanks for the tip, will have to keep it in mind. And I'm sorry, I could've worded that better. I haven't been waiting years for an answer. LOL I just read this thread for the first time today because someone brought it back to the top. I wanted to ask you about the goodies from John (the photo was from page 4, not my question) but I didn't think I'd get an answer until I caught up at the end and noticed you had returned.

We headed back to our cabin and we had goodies and luggage!!

 

 

I had posted on John's page our cabin number and sailing. Was not expecting anything but man it does work! Thanks John!

 

Oh wow, since this thread was kinda old, I didn't think I'd get an answer to a question I had from way back on page 4, but I see you have returned. Can you elaborate on this, please? Is there some top secret way to get a nice snack, a super duper priceless plastic ship trophy, & a bottle of champagne? :confused:

 

Thanks for all the photos. If all goes well, we'll be on the Glory next summer. And hitting St. Thomas and P.R. too (plus a couple others). I love getting a glimpse of places ahead of time.

What the trolling foxtrot?

You win. (y)

I think it'll come in handy even without the chat. I can't remember where I read that you can connect with multiple people. Someone might've said that on the old Carnival forum. But the more I read about it, I'm not so sure that's actually a thing. Like you said, I guess you can add multiple people to the contact list, but only communicate one at a time. I definitely want that one-on-one communication, but it would also be nice to be able to message an entire group at once to meet up or something.

 

Yeah, I don't think you can adjust the 15 minute reminder time, I just thought it would be nice if it was a little longer. Maybe a half hour. All in all it seems like a very handy tool and we look forward to trying it out

You can buy an external 3TB hard drive (USB 3) at the Big yellow price tag store for under $100. Storage is so cheap these days there really is not excuse to not have a couple to back everything up. I think I have 3 or so to back stuff up with.

Do you mean that store where you can get really really good buys? So good that they say those buys are the "best?" ;)

 

Every picture I take with my phone goes to Microsoft Onedrive in the cloud.

 

Also, every bit of my data on my C: drive syncs to Onedrive on the cloud, so I can pull it down from any computer with internet connectivity.

But backing up photos to the could won't do a person much good on board a ship unless they buy the Premium internet plan (more than likely). Or Value plan maybe. But I've heard speeds aren't always that great, so constantly uploading photos to the cloud would probably be a chore.

We were on the Freedom in February and the Hub app worked nicely. The chat was responsive and quick. The maps and fun times were nice. If you marked something as a 'favorite' in the funtimes, it would pop-up a reminder about 15 minutes before that activity.

 

My gripe - spa appointment services or meal times etc couldn't be marked as a favorite, you actually had to remember those. My bigger gripe - the kids club wasn't hooked up to it, so if they needed to get in touch with you for some reason, they couldn't - unless you got one of the limited phones from them. I can understand the kids club not wanting to get text messages from everyone on the app, but one way communication from them to you would have been helpful in emergencies. I would be nice if you could see what is available before you hook up to ship wifi.

 

I found it better than the NCL app.

Thanks for the info. Glad to finally hear about someone who had a good experience with the chat feature because I think it would be nice to use...as long as it worked well. I like the idea of the Fun Times being there. Oftentimes we'd be out & about, knowing there was an upcoming activity we wanted to do, but forgetting exactly when it was. I never wanted to carry it around with me. It's to my understanding that you can be in a chat with multiple people, is that correct? By adding them using folio numbers. If that's so and you're chatting with a group, can you also chat with an individual person, or maybe just a couple? We'll be going with another family and it'd be nice for all of us to be able to communicate, but there's also times when we just want to get a hold of one another when it's not necessary to broadcast it out to the whole group.

 

 

And one more question about the 15 minute reminder. Did it also alert you with sound, or just a pop-up within the app?

 

 

Not being alerted to meal times wouldn't bother us because we do YTD and play it by ear. I really like the reminder concept, but I kind of wish it was more than 15 minutes prior because sometimes you need to get to something earlier than that to get a good seat, avoid fighting a crowd, or give yourself enough time to run back to your cabin if necessary before the activity.

No.

 

The policy is 1 bottle/ADULT.

One small addition to your comment. 1 bottle per drinking age adult. In case anyone asks if an 18-20 yr. old counts. ;)

Answers in this thread (unless that wasn't a typo on this thread title) apparently weren't sufficient:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2464671

 

or this one:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2391801

 

or this one:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2391029

Well, he sure pulled one over on us. The same question in every instance and in every instance he doesn't thank anyone or return to the thread. Just like this one. That's a special kind of...boredom? Trolling? Too much time on their hands? :confused:

Just remember to turn on Airplane Mode so you don't incur any added fees from your carrier, then turn your phone's wifi back on so the Hub app can connect. I've been trying to get some more info about the Hub app's chat feature. It wasn't available on our cruise last year but will be on our next. So far I've only heard from a few people who have used the chat feature recently, but their experiences weren't that great. Said that the chat service was often sketchy, sometimes the recipient would get the message much later, sometimes not at all. Last year we all purchased the Social plan and communicated using iMessage. It was pretty reliable, with only a few dead spots. Would like to hear more about Hub chat experiences before we buy that because if it's unreliable, we'll just save that fee and buy the Social plan again.

Here are the costs & benefits to FTTF (Faster To The Fun): https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1374/kw/FTTF/session/L3RpbWUvMTQ5MDEyMzk4Ni9zaWQvZlV5TkZNSXEzVW8ycTBvUW5kRjRJY0NjZVdEZW1odm9BZkRfTjRDSFFXdThOVTVwNmp4UGkwc1lxdjdnZFZZZWJIYjdBd1doRUZTeFpMODE5aE5IaldHUSU3RVRUbUhGRXEwN3RrajNObkRiODVWTENDSXFkMWVQMkElMjElMjE%3D

 

I will say this as far as priority check-in goes. We left from Ft. Lauderdale last year (without FTTF) and so many people had purchased it that their line was as long as our regular line. So the actually check-in process wasn't necessarily faster. From that point on, though, other benefits kick in, like boarding earlier.

Understood. He is not allowed soda but he loves lemonade so he will be happy with that.

 

Laura

Take a travel mug of some kind. Then you can fill it up with lemonade from Lido and have it in the room for him or carry it with you.

on our last cruise we were placed in the MDR with other families like ours (I am a single mother and it was just my daughter and I cruising.) We were at a table with another single mom and then a family with a daughter around my daughters age (a bit older but still a teen).

 

The family did the same as I did. Our daughters never wanted to hang out in the teen clubs so the "sign out" thing was never an issue. My daughter mostly wanted to just hang out with me and we did a lot of things together on board and in ports. Occasionally I'd let her run up on deck to grab a drink or let her go to Karaoke without me (I'd join her later)

 

The other single mom at our table gave her daughter the "sign out" privileges and I don't think she had a clue where her daughter was or what she was doing. The funny thing (to my daughter and I) was that this girl was the model of prim and proper while we were at dinner. Very polite, very sweet and super "innocent". They spoke about how she was in the Sunday school at church, etc. etc.

 

We would occasionally see her roaming around the ship - it was always with a different group of guys and she was usually hanging off of one of them. She was dressed in one of those shirts that only goes half way to her mid-rift and had a TON of make-up on. We saw her exiting an "employee only" doorway once as well... Lord knows what she was up to in there!!

 

but when we'd see her at dinner again the next day, same thing... super quiet, super sweet and very innocent. Her mother had NO IDEA of what her daughter was doing when she was roaming the ship.

 

That said - I'm on the side of the folks who say that there are thousands of strangers on board the ship... that's an awful lot of people that have the potential to do my daughter harm. She's allowed to hang out with her friends in our neighborhood, she's not chained in the house... she is able to go to the local skating rink and be with her friends without me there. If we go to the mall, I don't make her stay by my side the entire time... These are all places that I know and trust. Onboard a ship, no so much.

This is a good example of what parents don't know. To all those saying to let 'em roam free because it teaches independence, keep in mind, they're still kids. And I'm talking about the younger ones, like pre-teen, maybe 13 or 14 (although some will say that's plenty old enough, but it depends on the kid). They're still developing & learning which means they still need guidance & supervision. As much as we might trust them, kids will be kids. Didn't you do anything or act inappropriately as a kid when your parents weren't around? Combine that with the possibility of them connecting with other kids on board, ones they don't know well and who may not be as trustworthy & good as yours, there's always a chance for something bad to happen. Again, they're kids and many times are easily influenced by others. As kids, they need boundaries and rules. Both are crucial to their development. So while yes, it's vacation and everyone should have fun, I think supervision is still very important for the younger ones. Maybe not direct supervision 100% of the time, but they shouldn't be allowed to go all "Lord of the Flies." As good as you know your child to be, things happen.

 

And as far as those who aren't worried about adults on board who may have bad intentions concerning kids, remember, there's cases all the time when kids who were abused in some way don't come out and admit it until many years later. Now that doesn't mean it's a common occurrence on these ships, but statistics show us that it happens more often than we know and just don't find out about it until much later.

Search for a cruise, pick one, then on the next page, click Explore Room Options. Do not add to cart yet. After choosing your room type (e.g. Interior), under the red avg price per person, there's a blue button that says Choose Room Location. A pop-up window opens and along the left side of this new window, you can choose your promotional deal (e.g. Early Saver, etc.), your preferred section (front, mid, back), and choose a deck & room.

 

As far as reverting back to the old way, I deleted all of my browser's cookies for Carnival's site and when I went back to it, it gave me the choice of using the new or old way again. That is, if you're comfortable with clearing your cookies either for the entire browser or just Carnival's.

As far as seeing kids roaming, yeah, you most definitely will. We saw plenty by themselves, including many who were young enough that, if it were our son, we probably wouldn't give him free reign like that. A lot of parents seem to treat the ship like one big babysitter and go do their own thing. I agree with sardam, there's a few thousand strangers on board and that's a heck of a lot of trust in others to let young ones roam free. I admit I'm a little old fashioned, so I think there is such a thing as being too young to be without parental supervision all day every day. Besides, part of the enjoyment of taking your kids is spending time with them while you're there.

 

Maybe give them a little time to be on their own, but make sure they let you know what their plans are. I'd recommend a lanyard of some kind for their S&S card because kids will be kids and might lose it. Make sure they know how to get back to your cabin or show them what the crew look like in case they get turned around and need to ask for help. Even for adults, it can take time to get the lay of the land. In the end, you know your kids best and between you and the rest of us here, you're the only one who can decide what's best for them.

(FYI I find it funny that people in different areas call foods different things. My In-laws call Sloppy Joes - Hot Tamales......WTH? They are nothing like a tamale....but that's what they call them. When they ask if I want a hot tamale I say "No thanks....but I'd love one of those Sloppy Joe's over there..." :)

My grandma used to call sloppy Joe's "yip yip." My mom does too. Not sure where that originated from and I don't think I've heard it called that anywhere else.

 

This was posted in another thread, taken on the current cruise. It's the BBQ place on Glory that replaced the fish & chips. Kind of hard to tell, but I think the sign says "Ol' Fashioned BBQ." Strangely, it's still not listed in the Glory's dining options on their site. Menu looks great, we look forward to it.

 

I saw this at breakfast. Deck 10 above the buffet on other ships is a seafood station. My first time in Glory but here it's bbq.

 

 

 

Judging by the description of Guy's Pig & Anchor on Carnival's site and the menu of the other BBQ posted above, they're pretty similar menu items. Probably the biggest difference is not having Guy's signature sauces. The regular BBQ menu looks great, we're looking forward to trying it.

Our first was last year. Cruising wasn't a vacation I had ever really wanted to do or even thought of, but a couple members of my wife's family are frequent cruisers and asked us to go with them. I still wasn't very amp'd up about it, but went along with it for the sake of my wife & son (they were excited to try this new experience). In the end, I'm glad we went because we loved it. We booked our second cruise last month, but the downside is, it isn't for another year. Still very excited though. We're taking different members of her family this time, along with their 3 kids. We hope they enjoy it as much as we did.

 

 

First time was solo :')

Are we talking about your first cruise?

Nobody told me solo can count as the first time. That changes everything! :D

I have to wonder why they didn't make it the Pig & Anchor branded BBQ like the new ships. (Guy Fieri named). On the Vista we had his line of BBQ sauces which were good! Thought maybe they'd brand this one too. Not quite the selection either, but we'll still enjoy it I'm sure.

So far the Guy's BBQ is only on 3 of the newest ships, with Breeze "coming soon." I guess it's supposed to be one of the perks of a newer ship. Maybe it'll eventually trickle down to the rest of the fleet as they go into future dry docks.

Yeah, they just introduced the BBQ last year where the fish & chips used to be. Not sure how many ships they've done this on so far, but I do know it's on the Conquest too.

I have a feeling "pax" is technical/industry jargon rather than Internet lingo. Just some way of shortening it.

 

Spinoff, but from context I always thought "SMH" meant "so much hate", but apparently it means "shaking my head".

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Yeah, there was once a time when it meant "so much hate." When texting became the preferred method of communication for many people, some of the abbreviations began to change.

 

When my wife uses DH, it's usually "Damn" Husband :')

And that's when mine is being nice. :o

Hi Guys, I love this site, I have had a great deal of questions and answers, but as I am new to cruising and this site there is one big problem, there is a hell of a lot of abbreviations, in some of the answers I receive, DH, OBC, etc., which I haven't got a clue what they mean, is there a abbreviation list somewhere to help me understand LOL, thanks

The abbreviations for significant others & children (DH, DW, DS, DD) aren't necessarily cruise lingo. They've been around for many years and pretty much got their start in internet chat rooms, message boards, & forums. At one point I can remember the DS & DD, referring to one's children, stood for dependent son & daughter. Now I guess they're all dear or dearest. I've always found those particular ones a bit annoying. I'd rather just type it out. And I never really understood "PAX," meaning passengers. Not sure how it evolved into an "X."

I'm on board right now. Water works still under construction. Fairly loud noisy there while on the lido deck. New carpet in casino and comedy club. Staff is great do far. If you have any specific questions i can try to answer.

 

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Yeah, the first two cruises after dry dock got a bum deal. WaterWorks won't be done until the 25th. I think I read that they were allowing people from these two cruises to cancel for a full refund or transfer to another cruise (of equal value). But did I also read that if you kept the booking, they were giving passengers OBC because of the complaints about the work?

 

What stinks for us is that we still have another year before we're there and all that shiny new carpet & paint will have seen a lot of wear by the time we get there.